Microbiome

Gut microbiome affects a lot of things Brain and behaviour -Agression digestion Immune system and more

The population of all the microbes in a given area (not just the bacteria)

The microbes that make up the microbiome

In harmony or balance

Out of balance

A mutually beneficial relationship

When all is well, these are really helpful -Provides nutrients -Metabolites serve many functions -Regulates immune system -Also prevents colonization of microbial pathogens -Influence metabolism and behavior

Non-pathogenic bacteria, yeast, and even some protozoa -Animals are born with these Different if the birth is surgical birth or early antibiotics Composition varies due to lot of factors -Age -Environment -Diet -Geography

NO -Decreased learning ability -Increased inflammation and auto-immunuty -Increased fear, anxiety, depression and aggression due to the lack of metabolites

Caused by early life factors, genetics, diet, environment, other diseases, and antibiotics This is multifactorial and has many different outcomes

“Feed” the gut microbes: usually some type of solute fibre -This is actually helpful Fiber fermentation by microbiome increases short chain fatty acid production which in turn promotes immune system regulation, metabolic regulation, host cell proliferation

“Leaky gut” is a breakdown between the microbiome and the intestinal cell wall

Introduces “beneficial” bacteria into the gut Prebiotics are better, why? -Not much probiotics actually make it to the end product (doesn’t survive the freeze dry process

Not just any bacteria can move into the microbiome and establish - COLONIZATION RESISTANCE -Most bacteria don’t really stay in the gut and colonize -They don’t survive longer than 10-21 days -Probiotics need to be taken continuously -The species and subspecies that resolves dysbiosis varies between individuals -Some studies even show negative effects of probiotics

It’s complicated -Time -Diet and environment (keep it hygienic) -Control inflammation and-or autoimmunity

Dysregulation/activation of the local immune system - inflammation -The macrophage may identify the microbiome microbes as a pathogen and attack -Can become chronic and systemic, or lead to auto-immunity Direct damage to the enterocytes (lining of the intestine) Chronic enteropathy compounds dysbiosis Allows pathogens to colonize

Grain overload in horses -Increased starch entering the cecum causes dysbiosis resulting in systemic inflammation - laminitis Cecal dysbiosis in rabbits -often causes death Sudden changes of diet in dogs causes diarrhea due to the microbiome -It’s good for dogs to change their diet fairly often for a diverse microbiome Diarrheal disease in cattle Increased susceptibility to pathogenic bacterial infection Increased behavioural issues

The gut has a huge effect on behaviour and the brain -Metabolites and other microbes produce things that your body needs to function

You are what your bacteria eat “Metabolite produced by gut microbes contribute to Tryptophan production…a key amino acid that leads to serotonin synthesis”

Antibiotics are both a blessing and a curse The microbiome can take months to recover from antibiotic treatment -Early life antibiotic treatment has the most detrimental effects Solution: only use antibiotics only if indicated by clinical signs and diagnostics -Use prebiotics when antibiotics are prescribed -Avoid raw food and pea protein based/grain free diets